Swinging footrest



Patented Sept. 30, 1941 SWIN GIN G FOOTREST Allen E. Beeson, St.Charles, Ma, assignor to American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 3, 1940, Serial No.350,209

5 Claims.

This invention relates to foot rests in general and in particular toswinging foot rests for use with vehicle seats and has for one of itsobjects the provision of a simplified swinging foot rest adjustable inone operation to various vertical positions.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a swinging foot restwhich may be adjusted by lateral sliding of the foot rest properaccompanied by a lifting or lowering thereof.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a swingingfoot rest automatically operable in at least one direction withoutconscious adjusting effort on the part of the operator.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to personsskilled in the art from a study of the following description andaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side View of adjacent seats with the improved foot restsapplied thereto and with parts broken away to better disclose theconstruction;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the seat base and improved foot rests;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the base frame with improved foot rests appliedthereto, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the automatic latchingarrangement.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the seatproper consists of side pieces A, swinging back B and seat cushion 0,all mounted upon a platform D supported in any suitable manner upon thebase frame. As indicated in the drawings, the seat proper is adapted torotate on the seat base frame and the rotating mechanism may be of anysuitable type such as that shown in Willoughby Patent 2,124,501; Theseat base, as shown, is formed of side pieces 2 joined together at theirouter ends by pedestal structure 4, adapted to rest on the vehicle floorand joined at their inner ends by angle structure 6 adapted to beattached to the vehicle framing. The side pieces are also joinedtogether by intermediate and end cross ties 8 adapted to extendoutwardly beyond the side frames slightly and have their outer endsvertically elongated as at I to provide a plurality of teeth 12. Theseteeth, as clearly shown, are formed with substantially horizontal ledgesI 4 approached by means of inclined back surfaces I 6 to give a sawtooth efiect.

The cross ties and pedestal member are provided with openings to receivea pivot rod l8 which, as shown, extends in two parts across the withspaced jaws and projecting tongue engageable between the jaws and allheld together and constituting pivot blocks pivoted on the pivot rod.Each of the hinge elements or pivot blocks is formed with a projectionslidably engaged within a tubular arm 24. The outer ends of adjacenttubular arms are joined together in pairs by a foot rest proper 26,which may be of the circular padded type. The side arms are also joinedtogether in pairs by a catch rod 28 rigidly attached to the side armsand adapted to engage the teeth on the cross members. In order to holdthe side arms in tight engagement with the pivot blocks, tension springs30 are provided having one end fastened to the adjacent pivot block andthe other end fastened to a transverse bolt or pin 32 extending throughthe side arms of the foot rest. It will thus be seen that the tensionsprings constantly urge the side arms toward the pivot blocks with theresult that catch rod 28 is constantly urged into engagement with theteeth I2 of the cross members, thereby retaining the foot rest in thedesired position. Separation of the side arms from the pivot blocks isprevented by means of a transverse bolt or pin 34 extending through theside arms and through a slot 36 in the adjacent pivot block.

Due to the saw tooth shape of the cross member teeth, it is onlynecessary in moving the foot rest from a lower to a higher position tomerely lift the same, in which Case the catch rod 28 will work over theteeth in a ratchet pawl action until the foot rest has been moved to itsdesired upper position. In moving the foot rest to a lower position, itis only necessary to exert an outward pressure on the foot rest andaccompany this with a downward pressure until such time as the foot restreaches the desired position, after which release of the foot rest willcause it to assume a locked relation with respect to the teeth on thecross ties. Each of the foot rests, as clearly shown, is entirelyindependent of the other and may be adjusted to any desired positionwithout affecting in any way the position of the other foot rest.

While the invention has been described more or less in-detail, it willbe apparent to persons skilled in the art that verious modifications andrearrangements of parts may be made and all such modifications andrearrangements of parts are contemplated as will fall within the scopeof the appended claims defining my invention.

7 supported on a base frame and comprising, a pivot rod carried by saidbase frame, pivot blocks pivotally carried by said pivot rod, armsslidably carried'by said pivot blocks and extending toward a side ofsaid base frame, a foot rest portion joining together the ends of saidarms remote from the pivot blocks, a rod connecting the intermediateportions of said arms, and toothed brackets carried by said base frameand engageable by said rod for supporting said arms in ,a plurality ofpredetermined positions. a

2. A swinging foot rest assembly for a seatsupported on a base frame andcomprising, a pivot rod carried by said base frame, pivot blockspivotally carried by said pivot rod, arms slidably carried by said pivotblocks and extending toward a side of said base frame, a foot restportion joining together the endsof said arms remote from the pivotblocks, toothed brackets carried by said base frame, and means on saidarms engageable with the teeth of said brackets to support the arms andfoot rest in a plurality of predetermined positions. a

3. A swinging foot rest assembly for a seat sup- 7 ported on a baseframe and comprising; a pivot rod carried by said base frame, pivotblocks pivotally carried by said pivot rod, arms slidably carried bysaid pivot blocks and extending toward a side of said'base frame, a footrest portion joining together the vends of said arms 'remote from thepivot blocks, toothed-brackets carried'by said base frame, andmeans onsaid arms engageable with the teeth of said brackets to support the armsand foot rest in a plurality of predetermined positions, said meansbeing engageable with and disengageable from the teeth of said bracketsby movement of said arms laterally of the base frame. 7 V V 4. Aswinging foot rest assembly for a seat supported on a base frame andcomprising, a pivot 7 rod carried by said base frame, pivotblockspivotally carried by said'pivot rod, arms slidably carried by saidpivot blocks and extending toward a side of said base frame, springmeans secured to said pivot blocks and arms and urging the latter towardthe blocks, a foot rest joining together the extremities of said armsremote from the pivot blocks,"toothed brackets carried by said baseframe, and means on said arms engageable with the teeth of said bracketsto support the arms and foot rest in a plurality of predeterminedpositions, said means being normally held in engagement with the teethof said bracket by said spring means.

'5. .A swinging foot rest assembly for a seat 7 supported on a baseframe and comprising, a pivot rod carried by said base frame, pivotblocks pivotally carried by said pivot rod, arms slidably carried bysaid pivot blocks and extending toi ward a side of said base frame,spring means secured to said vpivot blocks and arms and urging thelatter toward the blocks, a foot rest joining together the extremitiesof said arms remote from the pivot blocks, toothed brackets carried bysaid base frame, and means on said arms engageable with the teeth ofsaid brackets to support the arms and foot rest ina plurality ofpredetermined positions, said means being normally held in engagementwith the'teeth of said bracket by said spring means, and said teethbeing inclined on one side to cause said arms and foot rest to operateas a pawl during lifting of the foot rest. ALLEN E. BEESON.

